Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov says his country is willing to grant Somalia’s army military equipment to aid its fight against terrorism.

Lavrov made the position known when he met his Somali counterpart, Abshir Omar Jama in Moscow on Friday.

He said Russia remained interested in meeting the material needs of the Somalian army in its fight against extremists that remain on Somalian territory including al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda.

More than one million Somalis have been internally displaced due to varying attacks by Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida offshoot in East Africa, leading to a lack of food and water and relocation to areas where global humanitarian supplies can be accessed.

Al-Shabaab has control over vast landmasses in southern Somalia where much of the country’s most fertile land is located. The control has made its recruitment easier as it guarantees food security in exchange for joining the organisation.

The government recently launched what has been referred to as its most serious operation against the al-Shabab extremist group in over a decade.

Russia has been strategic in its defence relations in Africa, with a strong presence in countries like Mali, Mozambique, Libya and Guinea, and recent links with Burkina Faso, most of which are under military juntas. The countries have been accused of engaging mercenary groups like Russia’s Wagner Group, amid various allegations of rights abuses.

Some international observers claim Russia and the West’s stances on conflicts on African soils are largely influenced by economic interests with a target on natural resources like oil, gas, gold, diamonds and many more.

Germany has extended the period of its military presence in Mali for a year with the decade-long mission now set to end in 2024.

Germany’s defence ties with Mali have endured some setbacks in the period of the mission. Last year, the country announced that it was suspending its participation in a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali after the West African nation refused to grant a civilian aircraft carrying German troops permission to use its airspace.

The German parliament voted 375 to 263 to leave the German troops in the country for another year. There was one abstention.

The majority of the 1,000 German soldiers stationed in Mali’s northern town of Gao have been tasked with conducting reconnaissance for the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA.

Around 12,000 military men are stationed in the nation with MINUSMA. Chad, Bangladesh, and Egypt are the three countries that contribute the most.

Mali under the current Junta of Colonel Goita has been on a thread of breaking diplomatic relations with allies, particularly over the alleged government’s decision to engage the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked private military company, to support its fight against insurgents.

It started by breaking defence alliance with the French, the junta also quit the anti-jihadist force, the G-5 force, but has continued to enjoy good relations with Russia.